Utah annihilates Georgia with season-highs on senior night


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SALT LAKE CITY — Fourth-ranked Utah gymnastics annihilated No. 20 Georgia, 198.15-196.35, in its regular-season finale, exploding out of a two-meet losing streak.

“That was exactly what the doctor ordered,” Utah co-head coach Tom Farden said.

The Red Rocks’ season-high score is the first 198 since 2015. That team eventually went on to become the NCAA runner-up.

“This team feels like the one we were on our freshman year. We have that kind of talent and team chemistry,” Maddy Stover said.

Utah’s motivation on Friday night came from honoring its three seniors — Stover, Tiffani Lewis and Erika Muhaw — in front of a roaring crowd of 15,208 and a live ESPNU television audience.

“This was all for the seniors,” MaKenna Merrell-Giles said.

Inspired, Utah posted season bests on bars (49.45), beam (49.525) and floor (49.775). On vault, the Red Rocks earned 49.40 — its best score on the event in five weeks.

MyKayla Skinner picked up three wins, seizing the all-around (39.725), beam (9.95) and tying for first on bars (9.925) with Merrell-Giles. Merrell-Giles also captured a win on floor with a 10.0, her second perfect score of her career and season — her first came on vault.

The Red Rocks never trailed its rival GymDogs. Missy Reinstadtler “set the tone” for Utah as she stuck her vault landing as the first gymnast to compete.

“She’s been sticking that vault in practice and she let one fly tonight,” Farden said.

Reinstadtler’s 9.875 was one of four on the event for Utah with Lewis scoring a season-high 9.90. The Red Rocks struggled with sticking on vault the past couple of weeks, but this time it was as if some their feet glued to the mat upon landing. Their improvements helped them earn an early 49.40-49.15 lead.

Utah turned in a season-high score on bars in the second rotation with the help of 9.925s from Merrell-Giles and Skinner. At the meet’s midway point, it obtained a 98.85-98.425 advantage.

The third rotation added more excitement for Utah and its fans as it put together a tremendous beam set. Skinner punched in a season-high 9.95 followed by Merrell-Giles and Reinstadtler’s career-high 9.925s. Meanwhile, Georgia struggled on floor. Utah extended its lead 148.375-147.225 with one event to go.

“We were on such a high tonight,” Merrell-Giles said. “In the last couple of meets, we had started to try too hard. Tonight, we didn’t get caught up on the little mistakes and wanted to enjoy every routine.”

Comfortable and having fun, the Red Rocks took to the floor with a heart-filled energy, eager to send the seniors out with a bang. Lewis started the lineup with a stunning career-best 9.975, a perfect way for a senior to finish her regular season. The big scores kept coming, including Merrell-Giles’ 10.0 and Skinner’s 9.975 routine, which fans thought deserved a perfect score of its own. Sydney Soloski also locked in a career-high 9.925.

“We wanted to see where having fun takes us,” Skinner said. “Hopefully, we can have fun the rest of the season.”

Next for Utah is the Pac-12 Championships on Saturday, March 24 in Tucson, Ariz. The Red Rocks are the second seed, following first seed UCLA.

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